Comments on 2014 National Rally

[jsetti]

I would like to say Thank You to all of those who made this rally possible. We had a wonderful time catching up with old friends and meeting so many new people. Although pricey, Ocean Lakes Family Campground had level, wide sites and it was very nice to be right on the ocean. Following are my observations on the rally itself. This is NOT meant to be critical in any way. Hopefully it will be taken as suggestions for future rallies. I am sure others opinions will vary.

Registration - Great job getting everyone registered, nice welcome bags, really like the badges in the badge holder, the scratch tickets was a good idea for the door prizes.

Food - Hot food should be served hot and kept in steam tables, on warming trays or something similar. The menu itself was just okay. A slice of bologna on white bread leaves something to be desired.

Vendors – The few vendors that were there were very good. I know there was an attempt to get more vendors to come. Do we know why they did not? Was it location? Was it the cost of the booth? Was it the cost of the site? Was it the number of attendees? Answers to these questions could be most helpful for the future.

Seminars – I did not attend all of the seminars but thought that the ones that I did attend were very relevant and well done. I heard that those that I did not attend were very good as well. I found it difficult to hear both the speaker and those asking questions since there were many people not attending the seminars at the vendor booths. I think it would be helpful to have a separate, smaller room for the seminars.

Entertainment – I really enjoyed the Paws for Vets demonstration. I do think you should either ask for a donation or have a raffle. I don’t think it was appropriate to have a raffle and then tell the winners they should donate their winnings. That should be their choice. We left before the raffle and gave our tickets to one of the young men who spoke so I don’t know if any of our tickets were pulled or not. As far as the band was concerned, it is possible it was just the acoustics in the room but the music was too loud for me. It is certainly only my opinion but many people in their 60’s, 70’s and 80’s seem to prefer softer music. As an example, my preference is someone like Kenny Evans that entertained at the Sevierville Rally. I did not stay for more than a couple of minutes after the band started, therefore I don’t know what type of music they played.

Schedule – I would suggest keeping the first day as was scheduled, registration and a light meal. For days two and three I would recommend vendors, seminars, dinners, and entertainment and prizes. The final day could be the breakfast and any outside activities such as the golf game, Veterans lunch, tours or dinner shows. That would shorten the Rally to four days which should save some costs for the facility rental as well as one night’s site fee (two if you didn’t want to participate in the outside activities and left after the breakfast). The facility cost savings might enable having a separate room for the seminars for example or better food.

Cost - I have attended eight this year. All of them had water and electric and four of them had water, electric and sewer. All included vendors, entertainment and meals. Some were better than others. This was the most expensive by far at $85.00 per day. A reduction in daily cost might increase attendance as well.

Again, we had a great time and I appreciate all the hard work that went into putting this rally together and hope no one’s feelings were hurt.

[gMw]

Thanks for taking the time to provide constructive feedback! It’s greatly appreciated..

[JimGeorgia]

This was our first IRV2 event and we had no idea of what to expect, so I wanted to share my "Cliff Notes" version:

Positives:

1. Friendliness of attendees. We tried to sit with different groups at the events and all were extremely welcoming.
2. Location. It's hard to beat the beach
3. Date. The cooler weather and smaller crowds make Myrtle Beach a lot easier to navigate.

Opportunities:

1. Food. Marginal. Cannot run out of coffee at breakfast (some decaf remained, but that's a pretty good waste of colored water.
2. Programming. We were one of the little fish (Class C) there and it appeared that most of the programming was for the big boys, but I do understand that this reflects the vast majority of the rigs there. As newcomers to the RV world we hoped to learn more.

In summary, as first timers we wanted to say "thanks" for making us feel welcome at our first rally. We look forward to info on next year.

Best wishes: Jim, Sandra, and Dixie

[joleavitt]

My wife and I traveled 1200 miles to the rally. We had never been to Myrtle Beach before. We thought we might reconnect with some folks we met in 2012 at the Sevierville, TN rally.

First I want to thank all the rally volunteers for their hard work and dedication. Generally this years rally was run very well. Most everything scheduled seemed to go off as planned.

We arrived on Sunday around 2:00 PM. Check in was quick and easy. However, our first impressions of the campground were not very good and it did not change. Ocean Lakes is way over priced and the golf cart rentals are nothing short of a complete rip off.

The IRV2 registration was smooth, friendly and quick. The bags and name tags were both very impressive. The rally was off to a very good start.

But then came the food. Welcoming social: The soup was excellent and warm. Baloney sandwich? One piece between two pieces of bread. Ham and cheese had tasteless ham loaf which I have not had since I was a very poor college boy. Two cookies. Breakfast (Mon): 2 ounces of powdered eggs, cold sausage, frozen juice. Light breakfast (Tues): was very good! Dinner (Tues): Cold fried chicken (ran out), pasty mac & cheese (cold), cole slaw (that's what they called it), and frozen eclair pudding. Coffee with the Mayor (no caterer): these were both excellent and conversation was good. Dinner (Thurs): This was the caterer's best meal but it was just OK. In general, the mediocre food would have been much better if the hot food was served hot, the cold food was served cold, and nothing was frozen! Oh, the coffee was very good!

I felt bad for the rally volunteers. They really had little or no control over the caterer's poor performance. As far as the caterer is concerned I would have been embarrassed to have my name attached to the food they served!!

The seminars were very good for the most part and they started on time.

The vendors were good as well. We all would like to see more vendors!

The games were well attended and well run. Fun was had by all.

Medieval Times was great. There food was awesome!

Door prizes were great as well.

The raffles went well.

Paws for vets was a well received surprise. The fund raiser raffle was billed as a 50/50. It should have stayed that way. The audience was pressured to give all the money to the vets. It should have been left up to the individual winner to decide on their own. I bet the final result would have been the same and it would have meant more.

The entertainment was pretty good but too loud for the hall. We did not stay very long.

The rally closed with a karaoke campfire. There was no karaoke, no campfire, and no explanation - too bad.

Overall the rally was fun but far too costly. We reconnected with a few friends and new friends were made. We had a good time but if we had known how it was going to be the cost would have kept us home. We expected much more from the campground and the caterer. The rally staff was great.

Thanks again to the volunteers. They were friendly and very hard working.

Suggestions for future rallies:

1) The food must improve.
2) Have a seminar on the IRV2 website. There were new members at the rally. I still find the website very cumbersome.
3) Either Branson or Nashville would be great locations for a rally.
4) Have seminars or activities specific to women. I saw many women staying at the trailers while the men attended the seminars.
5) A couple more game tournaments would be great.

[budtee]

We're just saying.....the 2013 IRV2 Rally in Amana, Iowa was fantastic. Anyone who missed it, really missed an awesome good time. That rally really put the 2014 to shame. The 2012 was a also a very good rally. But we agree thanks to all the volunteers for a terrific job at Myrtle Beach. Here's hoping for 2015 rally to be the best yet.

[tooltrdr]

Hope to be able to volunteer for the 2015 to set up mini seminars for small groups with topics such as: Snow-birding (Climate Refugees), Full timers, Tricks to save $$ while on the road, etc, etc. These could be scheduled for 1 to 2 hours per day.

[D in Davie]

Its funny how people see the same thing differently. I did not go to any other rally so I don't have much to compare it to. The Amana rally had about 40 RV's. This one had 161. I went there to experience a rally and meet new people and it was a complete success. While I do think the so called caterer ripped the organizers off, I do not blame them for this. One cold chicken wing does not constitute a chicken dinner. The minced pork and vineger was a new experience but I did not go to the rally for the food and was not disappointed. I liked Ocean Lakes and thought the facilities were great. Anyone who has rented golf carts at Fort Wilderness DW thought the rentals at OL were a bargain. As for meeting new people I found that the people who knew each other from previous rallys stuck to themselves and the first timers had to seek out other first timers. It seemed that there were a number of us newbees in the I section so it worked out great. My only disappointment was not with the organizers but with some of the particpants. I know there were people there from the Noreasters and the Florida Cooters but they did not reveal themselves and missed an opportunity to get new members. I would have loved to meet someone from Florida to caravan with and I would have liked to meet someone from the Northeast to learn about interesting places to camp in that region. However I did meet some great folks from Tennessee and will be planning trips to that area in the future.

[D in Davie]

Jim makes a good point. Programming. Tthe organizers don't have to look any farther than this forum to find topics for next years events. Lets face it, this years seminars were product demonstrations. Perhaps people could volunteer to host break out sessions or gatherings at there sites to talk about campgrounds. Each attendee should come prepared to described there favorite state park or their worst camp ground experience. There are enough people on this site who have done the cheap handling fix to have there own break out session. Full timers and part timers can have their own sessions. There should be ways for each of us to share from each others experiences. We could have a lively discussion about the best kind of dog or pet to take RVing. How about a cooking contest. Or a photography contest. Just some ideas. I'm sure there are many more.

[AL]

Hi All,

To D in Davie,

Since I am kind of guilty of what you said about old timers not mixing with new folks, I would like to say I am sorry! However I also have a few reasons for my behavior! 1st because of the menu for the meet & greet I did not go to it, but I was not going to just have soup & sandwich for dinner ! 2nd besides the rally I also had to split my time with friends from up there that I ride motorcycles with, as well as best friends from NJ. One of them I new since the age of 3 & his wife who I have known since she was 16! They came down to the area to spend time with me, due to not seeing each other for a few years! Since they do not have an RV, they were staying at a time share in Surfside Beach! 3rd I also as of now don't have a RV to travel with, just live in, and was only able to attended the rally because another friend of mine from NJ offered me a place to stay! I also believe in offering ideas to help solve problems. I think one idea to help with folks meeting since the Rally has grown to such a large number of guest! Is to have a evening besides the meet in greet where we could have tables set up with the state names on them, and you start out sitting there and meeting folks and then go to other tables of states that you might be interested in visiting!

[NLOVNIT]

I have merged the 2 thread discussing the 2014 iRV2 National Rally in Myrtle Beach into 1 thread so all comments can be posted in just 1 place.

Thank you,
Lori-

[D in Davie]

No need to apologize AL. I'm sorry I missed you as well. I think you and I agree that there can be a more organized effort to provide opportunities to socialize with each other. There is always somebody who doesn't like the food or entertainment. Its such a subjective thing. By the way I was looking for someone from NJ to talk to because I must camp up there at least once a year and have not found any decent places in the north of the state. Thinking of looking in PA. or NY. I do have a horror story about a campground in NJ and I'm not talking about dirty comfort stations.

[rmmpe]

Observations:
Food; The Bologna sandwich offered for the 1st night's "dinner" should have been a tip-off. Cold eggs and sausage lowered the mark. Running out of chicken sealed it. The 'food' was sub-par by any standard.

Socializing; We, as 1st-timers at a rally, felt isolated. Perhaps a program get-together for us would be nice. Shared camping experiences would have provided opportunities to meet others. As it was, we 'newbies' didn't feel at all welcome and, in a few cases, were completely ignored when we offered a "Good morning" or a simple
Hello".

On the bright side; entertainment was great and we enjoyed the band immensely. The Paws for Vets presentation was quite good as well.

Summary:
Extremely disappointing.

[gMw]

Originally Posted by NLOVNIT

I have merged the 2 thread discussing the 2014 iRV2 National Rally in Myrtle Beach into 1 thread so all comments can be posted in just 1 place.

Thank you,
Lori-

Thanks Lori!!!

[NLOVNIT]

Originally Posted by AL

...I think one idea to help with folks meeting since the Rally has grown to such a large number of guest! Is to have a evening besides the meet in greet where we could have tables set up with the state names on them, and you start out sitting there and meeting folks and then go to other tables of states that you might be interested in visiting!

That's a great idea for a mixer, Al! It would work no matter what the attendance size.

Lori-